Winter fuel ‘in total chaos’, and Ukraine ‘fury’ at US
News Desk
Occasional Digest - a story for you
The Times reports that the government is considering making changes to its planned cuts to the welfare system. Government sources tell the paper that “tweaks” to soften the blow of the cuts are being sought – including to disability support and the two-child benefit cap. It comes as Reform UK leader Nigel Farage prepares to “outmanoeuvre” Labour on welfare by promising to reinstate winter fuel payments, the paper adds.
The Daily Express also focuses on welfare, saying the government’s U-turn on winter fuel payments for millions of pensioners “has now descended into ‘total chaos'”. It says No 10 aides are now “scrambling to find a way” to ensure more OAPs get the payment. The paper adds that some Labour MPs believe Chancellor Rachel Reeves “faces the axe in a summer reshuffle”.
The Guardian says only a third of recommendations from major inquiries to tackle endemic racism in the UK over the past 40 years have been implemented. It has carried out its own analysis ahead of the fifth anniversary of the Black Lives Matter protests. The main picture on the front page is of a damaged building in Kyiv following the biggest night of Russian air strikes since the war began.
The attacks on Ukraine lead the Daily Mirror, which headlines on President Volodymyr Zelensky’s criticism of the US. Zelensky said “America’s silence, and the silence of others, only encourages Putin,” the paper reports. At least 12 people were killed and dozens more injured in the attacks which saw 367 drones and missiles fired.
The Daily Telegraph reports that the US government is “monitoring” the case of Lucy Connolly, the UK councillor’s wife who was jailed for 31 months over an online rant against migrants on the day of the Southport attacks. The paper says the White House’s interest is an “escalation of free speech tensions” with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer. The main picture features Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos and his fiancee Lauren Sanchez at the Monaco Grand Prix.
The Daily Mail is focusing on what it calls the “first ever NHS rich list” which has been revealed in a new report. It says 512 NHS bosses are being paid salaries higher than the PM’s (£172,153), while nearly 300 are on £200,000 or more. The picture is of Liz Hurley with her new “hairy hunk”, US country singer Billy Ray Cyrus.
The front page of the i Paper carries its own exclusive on the HS2 rail project. The paper says it has spoken to whistleblowers who have made allegations of “large-scale” tax fraud related to the West Midlands part of the network. A government source tells the paper it is taking a “keen interest in this issue on behalf of the taxpayer and expect there to be serious consequences if these claims are substantiated”.
The Daily Star also says it has an exclusive – but an “intergalactic” one. The paper has spoken to a documentary maker who says RAF pilots “have been buzzed” by UFOs but are scared to speak out in case they are grounded. The paper’s thought for the day reads: “The truth is out there”.
Oil prices make the front page of the Financial Times, which reports that US oil companies are “cutting spending and idling drilling rigs”. It links the changes to President Trump’s tariffs which it says are increasing costs, while falling crude prices are squeezing profits. “We’re on high alert at this point,” one oil chief executive tells the paper.
The Times reports that ministers are considering changes to “soften” planned cuts to the welfare system, after criticism from their own backbench MPs.
A government source is quoted as saying that “tweaks” are being sought. The paper says this could include offering affected disability benefit claimants more time to find new support.
According to the front page of the Daily Express, “Labour’s U-turn” on the winter fuel allowance has “descended into total chaos”.
Aides for No 10 are said to be “scrambling” to find a way to ensure more older people get the payment, after Sir Keir Starmer changed tack last week.
An investigation by the Guardian has found that only a third of the recommendations from major reports commissioned to tackle endemic racism in the UK over the last 40 years have been implemented.
The analysis has been published to coincide with the five-year anniversary of the Black Lives Matter protests that followed the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
The Times says Britain is to ask Kosovo to take small boat migrants as part of the government’s plan to open a series of so-called “return hubs” overseas.
The country is said to be on a shortlist, drawn up by ministers and officials, where rejected asylum seekers would be sent after they have exhausted all their avenues of appeal in the UK.
The Daily Telegraph reports that a “world-first brain scanning technique” could help to identify signs of Alzheimer’s disease long before symptoms appear.
The team behind the tool, which works by analysing the cell structure of the brain, has said it could bring hope for millions of people with concerns about dementia.
And most of the papers reflect on the life of the former BBC executive and presenter, Alan Yentob, who has died at the age of 78.
The Times remembers him as “dominant creative force” who had an unwavering commitment to the BBC’s mission to inform and educate. But the paper notes that the long list of popular comedies and dramas he commissioned show he “never forgot the requirement to entertain”.
